Roller supporting structure



April 25, 1961 J. KINZELMAN ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 8, 1958 9 N\ am Nu Nu h K IN V EN TOR. 0M 4' e n N f mum Kofefimanm, lgzllwm 4174 14 744,.

Mew

kokvibxsuui 1961 J. KINZELMAN ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE April 25 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1958 "7 7 R. WW m 1.. w M Wm a W l a! mm y m M I. n w .W/

, 1961 J. KINZELMAN ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE April 25 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 8, 1958 www QNN NmN INVEN TOR. yauffi Xinzflmau 7)]:14077 {a/ewmnen, (227411271 and W744i.

United States Patent (7 2,981,453 ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Joseph Kinzelman, Northbrook, 11L, assignor to Gasway Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 7533*)9 '16 Claims. (Cl. 226-2 3) -The present invention relates to roller supporting structures and has for its primary object the provisions of a new and improved supporting structure for opposed pressure rollers adapted to act. upon a strip of material passing between them. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 438,643, filed June 23, 1954, now abandoned, and assigned to the assignee of this application.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved supporting structure for opposed pressure rollers adapted to act upon a strip of material passing between the rollers enabling substantial as well as readily adjustable pressures to be applied to the strip without causing undue lateral forces to be applied to the strip which would tend to cause the strip to move laterally or transversely of its direction of movement.

'A further object of the present invention is to provide a roller supporting structure which can be utilized effectively to guide an elongated strip of material in its movement between the rollers.

There are many types of equipment which utilize pressure rollers for various purposes. For example, they are used in coating equipment, particularly equipment designed to clean and coat strip material such as aluminum strip utilized in making awnings and the like. The equipment for this purpose includes various components for chemical cleaning, rinsing,drying, cooling, coating, baking, and rewinding the strip material. Certain of these components utilize pressure rollers for various purposes. For example, the chemical cleaning component utilizes pressure rollers in the form of squeegee rollers for removing excess cleansing chemical from the strip before it goesto the rinsing component. The pressure rollers should be adjustable so that the desired excess can be removed so that it will be'unnecessary to rinse excessive cleaning material and also to reduce the cost of the cleaning operations. The rinsing component may also have pressure rollers associated with it to remove the desired quantity of the rinsing compound which may be water. It may notbe necessary to apply as much pressure at this stage because water is relatively inexpensive but at the same time, at least most of the rinsing liquid has to be moved. There are stages where it is desirable to have the pressures so adjusted that some of the rinsing liquid remains on the strip thereby to facilitate a succeeding operation such, for example, as phosphating or the like. Generally, the strip is finally coated and baked. Prior to baking, the excess of coating material is removed as by squeegee rollers. After baking, it is desirable to cool the strip as rapidly as possible and this may be done by water cooled rolls or by water itself. Heretofore, water has not been particularly adaptable for this purpose because the cooling water could not be satisfactorily removed from the strip before it was rewound with the result that the strip'would become soured if stored for any time.

In known types of coating apparatus, for example, the strip is guided through the various components including pressure rollers as by edge rolls having contact with the edges of the strip. However, difiiculties have been encountered because the pressure rollers could not be adjusted satisfactorily to remove the desired quantities of cleansing or treating materials without the possibility of applying considerable forces tending to move the strip sidewise with the result that the strip might be damaged or the guide'rollers knocked out of positon. To avoid these difficulties, less pressure was generally applied on the rollers with an undesirable increase in the carry-out of treatment of materials.

The roller supporting structure of the present invention makes it possible readily and simply to adjust the pressure rollers without causing undesirable laterally directed forces to be applied to the strip passing through the rollers. It also enables considerable pressure to be applied to the strip and it is not critical with respect to pressure so that unequal pressures may be applied to opposite ends of the rollers without causing excessive wandering of the strip material. The roller supporting arrangement of the present invention makes it possible also easily to control the carry-out of materials and makes it possible to utilize water cooling inasmuch as sufficient pressure can be applied to the strip to remove as much of the cooling water as desired. Accordingly, it is possible to adjust the rollers to leave on the strip only so much of the coolant as will be evaporated by the residual heat in the strip as a result of the baking operation prior to rewinding of the strip.

In view of the fact that the roller supporting arrangement of the present invention is not critical with respect to pressures, it operates very satisfactorily not only for high or unequal pressures at opposite ends of the rollers but also for strips having structural irregularities which would cause undue laterally directed forces to be applied to and wandering of the strip material. For example, one roll of strip may be quite different from another so that when the two are joined for successive passage through theJequipment, the rollers will not be adjusted for the second strip. As a result, there would be considerable forces applied to the strip tending to move it from one side or the other. This does not occur with the present equipment.

While the present invention is particularly adapted for use and will be described in connection with coating equipment, it is applicable to uses other than in connection with squeegee rollers in coating apparatus. 'For example, it can be used on squeegee or similar rollers in applying veneers or decalcomanias, or squeegee rollers or pinch rollers, on rollers of both the driving and driven types, and generally wherever pressure rollers are used.

It is accordingly a further object ofthe present inven-' tion to provide a new and improved pressure roller supporting arrangement which enables the pressure applied to the strip by the rollers readily to be adjusted, even misadjusted, without causing undue transversely directed forces to be applied to the strip. 7

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved self-aligning pressure roller supporting arrangement;-

A further object of the present invention is to .provide a roller supporting arrangement which may be considered to be self-aligning in that it is movable into different positions transversely and angularly relative to the line of strip movement and this without applying undue transversely directed forces which would cause the strip to be moved in one direction or the other transversely of the line of movement of the strip.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved supporting structure for opposed pressure rollers including supporting means, bearing means mounting the rollers on the supporting means, and

means pivotally mounting the supporting means for movement about an axis located to one side of and normal to the axis of rotation of the rollers and in a plane passing through the medial plane of the bearing means at an angle other than a right angle.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a supporting structure for opposed pressure rollers acting upon an elongated strip of material passing between the rollers including supporting means for the opposite ends of each of the rollers, self-aligning bearing means at the opposite end of each roller for mounting the rollers on the supporting means, and means pivotally mounting each of said supporting means for movement about an axis located to one side of and normal to the axis of rotation of said rollers and in a plane at an angle other than a right angle passing through the medial plane of the bearings, the pivot axes also being so located that lines projected through them and the bearings intersect at that side of the rollers whereat the strip enters the rollers, thereby to provide a self-aligning roller arrangement enabling considerable as well as adjustable pressures to be applied to the strip without causing undue laterally directed forces to be applied to the strip.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a roller supporting arrangement wherein the rollers are supported in the manner hereinabove described but which are adapted to be moved by power means thereby to apply transversely directed forces to the strip and to guide the movement of the strip through the rollers.

A further object of the present invention is the application of the roller supporting arrangement for flattening or deburring protuberances which may be found, for example, at the opposite edges of a strip of material.

In brief, the supporting structure of the present invention includes supporting means for the opposite ends of each of a pair of rollers acting upon opposite sides of an elongated strip of material passing between them. The rollers are supported or mounted upon the supporting means by bearing means which, in presently preferred embodiments of the invention, take the form of selfaligning bearing means but which may be otherwise mounted on the supporting means. The supporting means is mounted for pivotal movement about an axis located to one side of and normal to the axis of rotation of the rollers and in a plane at an angle other than a right angle passing through the medial plane of bearings. The arrangement is thus such that the rollers move angularly relative to the line of movement of the strip through the rollers. The arrangement is also such that the rollers follow the strip rather than, as in known arrangements, act upon the strip in such a way as to apply laterally directed forces to the strip which have a tendency to move it to one side or the other. In applicants arrangement, the strip is guided for longitudinal movement by edge rollers, crown rollers, or the like, as may be the case with the prior art arrangements, but in applicants arrangement the pressure rollers do not apply any substantial lateral forces to the strip whereby the edges of the strip might be damaged by being moved against the edge guide rollers. It also avoids possible damage to the edge guide rollers. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the supporting means are mounted for movement about pivotal axes which are so located that lines projected through the axes and through the roller supporting bearings intersect in the region of the path of the strip. Preferably, the axes are located generally centrally of the rollers although the pivot axis could be located outwardly of the ends of the rollers. In both cases, though, lines passing through the axes and bearings intersect in the path of movement of the strip or substantially centrally of the rollers.

In installations where the rollers are to be self-aligning, i.e., are not power adjusted to guide the strip, the pivot axes are located so that the intersection of lines passing through them and the bearings intersect in the region of the strip at the side of the rollers whereat the strip enters the rollers. This means that for pivot axes displaced toward the center of the roller the pivot axes are located ahead of the roller and that for pivot axes displaced axially outside the roller the pivot axes are located behind the roller.

The rollers are preferably disposed one above the other and means are provided for adjusting opposite ends of the rollers thereby to provide the desired pressure between the roller. As already indicated, this adjustment is not critical because of the self-aligning action of the rollers of the present invention.

The pressure rollers themselves may take various forms. They may be rubber or similar material squeegee rollers. They may be metal rollers and used for flattening or deburring strip material. The rollers may be driven by the material or may be power driven.

The roller mounting arrangement of the present invention is also adapted for guiding an elongated strip of material. For this purpose, the roller supporting means are adapted to be moved transversely and angularly relative to the line of movement of the strip by power means, thereby to apply a laterally directed force to the strip and to cause it to move to one side or the other whereby the path of movement of the strip can be determined.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description of illustrative embodiments thereof, in the course of which reference is bad to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of coating equipment including roller supporting apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the roller supporting structure of the present invention and of which one or more may be included in the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the view being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and to which reference is had in describing the operation of the rollers;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a further embodiment of the invention;-

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing deburring apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of a strip guiding apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of a modified strip gnliding apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 9, the view being taken along the line 10-10;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged top plan view, partly in section, of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 9; and

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1'212 of Fig. 11.

Referring now to the drawings and first to Fig. 1, it will be noted that it illustrates diagrammatically a coating apparatus indicated as a whole by reference character 10. It includes a plurality of in line components acting sequentially upon an elongated strip of material 12 which may be aluminum utilized in the construction of awnings and the like. The strip is moved from a supply roll 14 to a rewind roll 15 through the various components, the strip being moved or pulled by a pull through mechanism 16 which may be of conventional construction, pinch rollers, bridle rolls or S-type driving rollers.

The apparatus 10 which has been illustrated in order to promote a better understanding of the operation and advantages of applica'nts invention includes an accumu- '5 lator 17, a deburring apparatus 18 constructed in accordance with the present invention and which will be described in greater detail hereinafter in connection with Fig. 7, and a chemical cleaning apparatus 20 including a roller supporting structure 22 constructed in accordance with the present invention and which will also be described hereinafter in greater detail. The cleaning apparatus 20 is followed by rinsing apparatus 24, phosphating apparatus 26, rinsing apparatus 28, drying apparatus 30, cooling apparatus 32 and a coating apparatus 34 for applying a coating-as of paint to the strip 12. The apparatus 24, 26, 28 and 34 may all include roller supporting structures 22 as shown diagrammatically in connection with the coating apparatus 34. The coating apparatus 34 is followed by a baking unit 36 followed finally by a cooling unit 38 supplied with coolant, such as water, through a spray 40 adapted to spray the water against the opposite sides of the strip 12 to cool it. The cooling unit 38 also includes a roller supporting structure of the present invention as indicated by the reference character 22.

Equipment includes guiding means for the strip 12 maintaining or tending to maintain it in its intended path.

The guiding means is indicated by the reference character 42 and may be of the edge guide roll type, as diagrammatically illustrated. However, in known apparatus, the strip is not effectively maintained in its intended path for various reasons and often it is damaged by being pushed againstthe guide rolls with excessive force. This results in bending or other damage to the edges of the stripor in damage to the rolls.

in order to avoid damage to the strip or guide rolls the apparatus is provided with the roller supporting structures 22 of the present invention, one of which will now be described with particular reference to Figs. 2 and 3. it will be assumed that the particular apparatus 22 which is shown in these figures is that associated with the cooling unit 38. The structure 22 is located at the exit side of the unit between the side walls 45 and above a down- 'wardly and rearwardly extending bottom wall 46, which terminates in a short upwardly extending front wall 48. The unit 22 is preferably mounted as upon a transversely extending dependent supporting structure 50 which may be constituted as by a relatively heavy plate extending between the side walls 44 and to which is secured a pair of vertically spaced angle iron supports 52 and 54 upon which the roller supporting structure 22 is actually mounted.

The roller supporting structure includes a pair of laterally spaced apart supporting means 56 and 58 supporting the opposite ends of the rollers 60 and 62, of which the latter is mounted above the other so that the strip of material 12 passes between them as best illustrated in Fig. 2. These. rollers have a width somewhat greater'than that of the material as illustrated in Fig. 3. For narrow material, the rollers may have a width of about three inches greater than that of the strip and for wider materials the rollers may have a width of eight inches more than the width of the strip. In the illustrated embodiment the rollers are squeegee rollers which may be made of some suitable resilient material such as rubber. Also, the rollers are idler rollers in the sense that they are driven through contact with the moving strip rather than by power means.

The rollers are so mounted that they can be moved toward and away from each other in order to provide Thesupport arms-70 and 72 are relatively movable angularly in order toprovide-an adjustment-of the pressure exerted by the rollers. For this, purpose the lower support 70 is pivotally secured as by a pivot pin 74 extending through a somewhat triangular vertically disposed plate 76, the upper end of which is secured as by welding or the like to the under side of support bar 72. A vertically disposed guiding and splash plate 78 may be secured as by the rivets 79 to the bar 72. This plate 78' the outer ends of support arms 70 and 72. Underneath arm 70 and encircling the lower end of bolt 82 is a pressure spring 84 abutting against the underside of support arm 70 and a washer 86 positioned at the end of the bolt as by a cotter pin 88. Above the support arm 70 is located an adjustable stop collar 90 secured to the bolt as by a set screw 92. Adjustment of the roller pressure is thus easily variable by rotation of the adjusting knob 80 thereby to vary the pressure exerted by the rollers upon the strip, the pressure being exerted through the spring 84.

In accordance with the present invention the rollers are made to be self-aligning relative to the strip so that they accommodate themselves to irregularities in dimensions of the strips and to differences in pressure at opposite ends of the rollers. To accomplish this in the em bodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the supporting means 56 and 58 for the rollers are pivotally movable about pivot axes defined by the vertically extending pins or shafts 94 and 96 and the rollers are mounted in self-aligning bearings at their opposite ends, the bearings being indicated generally by the reference character 98. These bearings are mounted in known manner on the bearing blocks 100 bolted to the undersides of the arms 70 and 72. These self-aligning bearings are preferably of what are known as internal self-aligningtype in order to provide a mounting that is as free aspossible. However,

.they may be of other self-aligning types or otherwise mounted in order to enable the bearings and rollers to have angular movement relative to the supporting means 56 and 58 at least in the plane of movement of the strip through the rollers. The rollers and their supporting arms 70 and 72 are secured to the pivot pins 94 and 96 through suitable means which are illustrated as generally vertically disposed angle irons 102 and 184. These have one flange secured to the pivot shaft and the other to the supports 70, 72 and the interconnecting supporting plate 76. The lower ends of the pivot shafts extend through apertures in a bearing angle 105 and their ends are seated on angle 54.

The pivot pins 94 and 96 are so located that they are normal to the axis of rotation of the rollers, are located to one side of the axes of rotation of the rollers in a plane at an angle other than a right angle passing through the medial plane of the bearings, and at that side of the rollers at which the strip enters or approaches the rollers.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the strip 12 is indicated by the arrow 106 as moving from left to right between the rollers and in a general-ly horizontal plane. The pivot pins 94 and 96 are vertically located and are thus normal to the axes of rotation of the rollers 60 and 62. The pivot axes are also located at that side of the rollers from which the strip 12 enters the rollers. Furthermore, the pivotal axes 'are located inwardly or toward the center of the rollers from the bearings 98 so that a line passing through the pivotal axes and the bearings intersects in the region of the strip at a point not shown but which is some distance toward the left of Fig. 3. With an arrangement of this type, the rollers 60 and 62 have freedom of movement laterally as well as angular-1y relative to the longitudinal path of movement of the strip. Thus, the rollers will assume some transverse and angular position dependent upon the adjustment of the roller pressures and physical dimensions of the strip, which position of adjustment is such that the rollers will not have any substantial tendency to cause lateral movement of the strip as is the case with prior art types of devices. In other words, the use of the present arrangement of rollers enables them to move to a position at which they will not produce any laterally directed forces tending to move the strip against the edge rollers which are utilized to guide the strip, which rollers have been indicated by the reference character 42 and are located in front of units 20 and 34. Additional edge guide rollers or other guiding means, such as crown rollers, may be utilized if desired but they have not been illustrated.

In operation, any camber in or taper in thickness of the strip simply causes the rollers to move in one direction or the other. The same is true of any uneven adjustment of the roller pressure by the pressure adjusting knob 80. If one of the knobs 80 is tightened more than the other to apply an increased pressure on the roller at one end, this has simply a tendency to make the roller assembly move laterally and 'angularly in a direction to relieve any tendency to displace the strip. This has been illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4 wherein the roller assembly has been shown shifted (in exaggerated manner) from the solid line position indicated by reference character 110 to the dotted line position indicated by the reference character 112. In other words, what happens is that the roller assembly shifts without any substantial lateral movement of the strip 12 as distinguished from other arrangements wherein such dilferential tightening of the rollers would cause the strip 12 itself to move. Accordingly, there is little likelihood that the strip 12 will be damaged by being pressed with excessive force against the edge guide rollers 42. Likewise, neither will the rollers 42 be damaged.

The particular location of the pivot axes 94 and 96 depends on various factors, all of which are not known at present. It is better to have the pivots close to the rolls, in order to get greater angular movement of compensation or self-alignment action for a particular transverse movement, but they should not be so close as to result in unstable operation, i.e., a hunting action.

The self-aligning operation may be obtained also with a construction such as that illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 5 wherein the pivotal axes 120 of the roller supporting means 22 are located laterally out beyond the bearings 88. With this type of arrangement the intersecting lines passing through the bearings 88 and the axes 120 are still located in the region of the strip 12 at the entry side of the strip towards the rollers. This construction may be used advantageously in certain installations, as, for example, some in which the strip moves'in a vertical path, so that the rollers can be mounted to extend downwardly from their pivot pins.

One advantage of the arrangements described above utilizing two pivotal axes is that a considerable angular movement of the roller assembly takes place with but little transverse movement of the assembly. This results from the fact that there is actually a differential action insofar as movement of the opposite ends of the rollers are concerned and such movement occurs about a relatively short radius extending from the bearings to the pivotal axes. However, a single pivotal axis mounting for the roller supporting means can also be provided. This has been illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 6 in which the roller supporting structure is indicated by the reference character 130, and it is movable about a single pivot axis 132. However, in this type of arrangement the rollers, in order to be self-aligning, have to have a greater lateral movement relative to the path of strip movement than with the arrangements previously described utilizing two axes.

A somewhat different application of the invention is embodied in the deburring apparatus 18 which is illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 7 to which reference is now had. Upon reference tothis figure, it will be noted that the apparatus 18 includes a roller supporting structure indicated by the reference character which may be substantially identical to the apparatus 22 heretofore described in detail. The apparatus pivots about the pivot axes 142 and 144. When the apparatus is used for deburring, the squeegee rollers are replaced by substantial and hard rollers. For example, the lower roller, indicated by the reference character 146, may be of hardened steel. The upper roller has been replaced by two hardened steel rollers 148 which are axially adjustable on the shaft 150 and upon which they may be secured in ad justed position by the set screws 152. These rollers 148 are relatively narrow, and they are adjusted to act on the edges of the strip thereby to flatten out or debur any burs or protuberances that may be on the edge of the strip.- The shaft 150 may be relatively heavy so as to deflect but little if any even with the application of high pressure. Also, the rollers 148 are narrow so that a high pressure per square inch can be applied to the strip.

The present invention may also be applied to provide guiding means for a longitudinally moving strip. An adaptation of the invention to apparatus of this character is illustrated in Fig. 8 to which reference is now had. The apparatus includes a supporting structure, indicated by the reference character 22, for the roll 60 and 62 mounted in the self-aligning bearings 98 carried by the supporting elements 56 and 58 movable about the pivotal axes 94 and 96. When utilized for guiding the strip 12 so that it will move in a predetermined path, the rollers are placed behind the pivot axes 94 and 96 as illustrated. Power means are provided to move the support 22 about the pivotal axes thereby to effect movement of the strip in one direction or the other. This means includes a motor controlled by means responsive to the lateral position of the strip 12, which means may take various forms but are indicated as being the limit-switches 162 and 164 adapted selectively to be actuated to close energizing circuits to operate the motor 160 in one direction or the other in response to movement of the strip 12 away from its predetermined path. When switch 162 is closed, an energizing circuit is completed through conductors 166, 168 and 170 whereby the motor is rotated in one direction. When the switch 164 is closed, an energizing circuit is completed through conductors 166, 170 and 172 thereby to operate the motor in the opposite direction. The motor is operatively connected to the unit 22 through suitable means which may take the form of gearing mounted in a gear box 174, a rotatable threaded shaft 176 having a helical driving gear 178 at its end connected to a segment gear 180 attached to the pivot pin 96 so that rotation of the motor in one direction or the other drives the shaft 176 in opposite direction thereby to effect movement of the roller supporting assembly 22 in one direction or the other to change the angular relationship of the rollers relative to the path of movement of the strip thereby to move the strip in one direction or the other, to maintain it in its path. In operation the strip may be moved in a series of incremental operations of the guiding means. Incidentally, this type of guiding means may be used in place of the guiding means 42 as shown in Fig. 1.

An alternative arrangement for guiding a longitudinally movable strip is shown in Figs. 9 to 12, to which reference will now be had. It includes opposed pressure rollers 200 and 202 located on opposite sides of the moving strip 204 which moves in the direction of arrow 206. The roller 202 is mounted as by bearings 208 (only one of which is shown in Figs. 10 and 11) upon a nonrotatable or dead shaft 210, the ends of which project beyond the ends of the roller. Roller 200 is similarly mounted by bearings 208 upon the dead shaft 212 which is supported from shaft 210 by the spaced suspension I 9 bolts 214 extending through aligned openings in'thetwo shafts and exerting a' resilient bias force adjustable by nuts 216 acting upon the springs 218 (see Fig. 10). The arrangement provides a simple means of supporting the rollers and for adjustment of the pressure exerted by the rollers on the strip.

The rollers are supported by movable supporting means taking the form of slidable pistons 220 and 222 mounted in the chambers 224 and 226, respectively. The chambers are so located as to define a virtual axis at the entering side of the strip. This is accomplished by mounting the housings on suitable fixed supports 228, as by brackets 229, so that the housings are inclined toward and in the direction of strip travel.

The outer ends 211 of shaft 210 are pivotally secured to the pistons 220 and 222 by the pivot pins 230 and the outer ends are provided with flats 232 seating on flats 234 on the piston. The piston housings are open ended so that the shaft 210 may project therein.

One of the pistons, in this case piston 220, is selectively actuated simultaneously laterally and angularly to move the rollers when the strip moves out of its desired path of travel. Theother piston 22 moves in response to movement of piston 220 and the roller assembly. The actuation is effected hydraulically, as by an actuating piston 236 mounted in cylinder 238 and operatively connected to piston 220 by rod 240. The two housings are suitably secured together as by bolts 242. Piston 236 is hydraulically moved in opposite directions by fluid admitted and withdrawn through the conduits 244 and 246 as controlledby suitable electrically controlled motor driven pump and valving contained in the unit 248 and controlled by the sensing units (switches) 250 and 252 located close to the rollers and engageable by the edges of the strip. The arrangement is such that should the strip move to the right as shown by arrow R in Fig. 9, switch 252 is operated to energizethe pump motor and valving to supply fluidthrough conduit 244 and withdrawn through conduit 24 6. Piston 236 is actuated to move the piston 220 and therollers so that the rollers move laterallyto the left and angularly to some such position 'as shown by line L. The lateral movement moves the strip to the leftand the angular movement is such that the, rollers set up a force on the strip counteracting the forces which initially cause the strip to move to the right. Straying of the strip to the left would cause opposite movements, v t, t, t

If desired, one of the housings 224 or 226 (but not both) could be arranged to be perpendicular to the path of strip travel, as shown by the dotted line position of housing 226 in Fig. 9. This arrangement also results in simultaneous lateral and angular movements of the rollers-but it is not as efficient as the illustrated arrangement.

From the foregoing description of the present invention, it may be noted that it is applicable toa number of uses of which a few have been illustrated and described. It has been found particularly useful in coating apparatus where its use has solved a number of difficult problems. It has rendered it possible to coat long strips of material without shut down of the apparatus, and without damage to the material worked upon. It has also made it much easier to adjust the pressure rollers so that the strip will not wander. It has operated very satisfactorily even though identical pressures are not applied to the strip of the opposite ends of the rolls and even though the strip itself varies in thickness and has a considerable camber. It operates satisfactorily, also, when a strip of one characteris followed by a strip of another character. Also, fewer edge guide rollers need to be used and these can be placed immediately at the output from the pressure rollers if desired. Furthermore, the elongated strip may be of variable length and this term is intended to be'used in a broad sense to mean strip that may be of limited length, for example it may be only a couple of feet long, or even shorter. The self-aligning roller supporting structure of the present invention which takes a position in which no substantial lateral force is applied to the material passing through the rollers, as indicated, may be used in types of installations where it is desired to apply pressure to the material without causing undue lateral pressures upon or movement of the material. For example, it may be used in making plywood, or applying veneers or other coatings, even to strip material of limited length. Also, in some applications, the roller supporting structure may be used without edge or other strip guiding rollers.

While the present invention has been described in .connection with the details of illustrative embodiments thereof, it'should be understood that these details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for acting upon an elongated strip of material, including in combination, a first pressure roller acting on one side of the strip, a second pressure roller directly opposite the first on the other side of said strip, a first shaft on which one of said rollers is mounted and projecting beyond'the ends of said roller, a second shaft suspended from the first and upon which the second roller is mounted opposite the first, means biasing said second shaft toward the first thereby to cause said rollersto apply pressure to the strip, piston type slide means movably supporting the ends of said first shaft, and meansmovably mounting said slide means along inclined paths defining a virtual axis at the side of the rollers whereat the strip approaches the rollers so that the rollers have simultaneously both angular and lateral movement relative to the path of travel of the strip.

2. Supporting and guiding structure for an elongated strip of material, including in combination, directly op posed pressure rollers between which the strip passes, supporting means at opposite ends of the rollers, means pivotally mounting the rollers on said supporting means, slidable means movably mounting said supporting means for movement about oppositely inclined paths so that the rollers have simultaneously both angular and lateral movement relative to the path of travel of the strip, means including hydraulically actuated means movable in the direction of said inclined path for moving said slidable means, and means responsive to the lateral position of strip passing through the rollers for selectively operating said hydraulic means to move said slidable means.

3. Supporting and guiding structure for an elongated strip of material, including in combination, directly opposed pressure rollers between which the strip passes, supporting means at opposite ends of the rollers, means pivotally mounting the rollers on said supporting means, slidable means movably mounting said supporting means for movement about paths one of which is perpendicular to the path of strip movement and the other of which is inclined toward and in the direction of travel of the strip so that the rollers have simultaneously both angular and lateral movement relative to the path of travel of the strip, means for moving said slidable means, and means responsive to the lateral position of strip passing through the rollers for selectively operating said means to move said slidable means.

4. Apparatus for acting upon a moving elongated strip of material, including in combination, a pair of directly opposed pressure rollers on the opposite sides of strip for maintaining pressure on the strip passing between them, supporting means rotatably supporting said rollers, and mounting means movably mounting said supporting means for movement of the rollers relative to the path of movement of the strip simultaneously both angularly and transversely about an axis region displaced from the axes of rotation of the rollers in the direction of the approach of the strip toward the rollers.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, including means adjustably mounting said rollers relative to each other for maintaining an adjustable and substantial pressure upon the strip passing between the rollers.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said supporting means rotatably supporting said rollers includes means providing relative movement between the rollers and mounting means.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said axis region is constituted by a fixed axis substantially normal to the plane of movement of the strip.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said axis region is constituted by a virtual axis substantially normal to the plane of movement of the strip.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said rollers are squeegee rollers utilized in treatment of the strip material and the rollers follow the strip as it wanders off its normal path of movement.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mounting means pivotally mounts said supporting means.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mounting means mounts said supporting means slidably along paths that are inclined relative to the path of movement of the strip.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 including actuating means for moving said supporting means, and means including means responsive to the lateral position of strip passing through the rollers fior selectively operating said actuating means to move said supporting means simultaneously transversely to move said rollers in a direction opposite to wandering of the strip from its normal path and angularly to move the rollers to provide a compensating force counter to the force causing wandering of the strip from said path.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein one of said rollers is mounted on a first shaft projecting beyond the ends of said roller, the second roller is mounted on a second shaft suspended from the first, and the apparatus also includes means biasing the ends of the second shaft toward the first.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein one of said pair of rollers has a width at least equal to that of the strip and the other is a relatively narrow one adjustable axially of said one roller.

15 Apparatus for acting upon a moving elongated strip of material, including in combination, a pair of directly opposed pressure rollers on the opposite sides of strip for maintaining pressure on the strip passing between them, supporting means rotatably supporting said rollers, mounting means movably mounting said supporting means for movement of the rollers simultaneously both angularly and transversely relative to the path of movement of the strip about an axis region displaced from the axes of rotation of the rollers in the direction of the approach of the strip toward the rollers and normal to the plane of movement of the strip, actuating means for moving said supporting means, and means including means responsive to the lateral position of strip passing through the rollers for selectively operating said actuating means to move said supporting means simultaneously transversely to move said rollers in a direction opposite to wandering of the strip from its normal path and angularly to move the rollers to provide a compensating force counter to the force causing wandering of the strip from said path.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said rollers are adjustably spring pressed toward each other and said mounting means includes a pair of pivotally movable arms supported for movement about spaced pivot axes normal to the path of the strip and located between the ends of the rollers and displaced from the axes of rotation of the rollers in the direction of the approach of the strip to the rollers, whereby the rollers positionally accommodate themselves to variations in strip dimensions, roller pressure and follow the strip as it wanders from its normal path of movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 62,958 Howe Mar. 19, 1867 106,179 Leavitt Aug. 9, 1870 270,718 Albey Jan. 16, 1883 819,710 Barnes May 8, 1906 855,482 Savage June 4, 1907 1,754,629 Kirk Apr. 15, 1930 2,036,883 Poppe Apr. 7, 1936 2,245,341 Hormel June 10, 1941 2,276,494 Kellogg Mar..17, 1942 2,331,030 King Oct. 5, 1943 2,563,224 Dunkerly Aug. 7, 1951 2,699,195 Weller Jan. 11, 1955 2,722,415 Wood Nov. 1, 1955 2,737,386 Reher Mar. 6, 1956 2,779,591 Huck Jan. 29, 1957 

